jimmynick

There are plenty of pics of collections in this subforum, so go right ahead!

I can see the pictures now. How big is this ship supposed to be in the end? If it's midi-scale or so, I wouldn't be too bothered about the slight misalignment, but if I were building larger, I'd want to be more precise using right triangle tricks of the sort I posted last night.

Some digging on Flickr got me to the builder's original (and more high-res) photos. You can tell from this picture that the sides of the bonnet are constructed using jumper plates to achieve the half-stud offset, just like you suspected: It looks to me like the more gradual slope on the top of the bonnet is a single plate offset, which is slightly smaller than the half stud (1 plate vs 1.25 plates). Part of the effect comes from teh fact this model is perhaps deceptively huge, and the folks over in the Scale Modeling forum might be able to help you more. You can get smaller offsets than a plate or half a stud using all kinds of tricks. The following is a classic built with headlight bricks, but there are lots of options now we have a large ecosystem of bracket pieces:

Herzlich Willkommen bei uns, Andreas! Glad you've found your way back to LEGO and I hope you get plenty of inspiration for your MOCs on the board!

I have no idea what the frame looks like or how it's built, but you can build arbitrary geometries by combining right triangles with whatever integer legs you like, and lining them up hypotenuse to hypotenuse. Bram Lambrecht used this technique to great effect in 2007 and this was the first time I learned about such a strategy: So you can set up a frame to accommodate any wedge you like!

There was this one awesome NASA-looking minifig I had around that time (got lost though ). But sci-fi-wise, although Life on Mars was pretty cool it was Alpha Team that really interested me. I agree with the general consensus that SW killed evergreen in-house "space" themes, although they have tried to reboot them in the past. But somewhere I encountered the notion that kids are less interested in free-form scenarios and more interested in plot-driven toys, or at least such things sell well. And you only have to look at the lifespan of Ninjago to realize there's something to that idea - and that theme has branched out in the past decade from strictly ninja-type action sets to massive vehicles, mecha, the vaguely cyberpunk-flavoured City Docks set, etc. It's in Nexo Knights, too, which is unapologetically sci-fi in nature. In the strict "space" column, Space Police III got named characters, or at least some of the baddies did. That didn't last. Mars Mission, Alien Conquest, etc. didn't have named characters. I think, generally speaking, the days of "Blacktron are sort of the baddies and Futuron are sort of the goodies" are long gone. What's the takeaway for me? Star Wars lays golden eggs for LEGO, and it's been documented that the license basically saved the company from bankruptcy. Not only that, but it's a heavily character-driven theme that appeals to kids because there are current media (TV, games, movies) and to their parents because of the nostalgia. It's a heady combination that LEGO hasn't made work for a 100% sci-fi theme yet, although Ninjago is lasting well past its 2- or 3-year sell-by date. Are they not trying hard enough? Possibly. Do they think it's too risky to try and beat Star Wars at its own game? Almost certainly. And, to be clear, I don't think I'm really a SW apologist. I like the universe but I'm mostly interested in Old Republic stuff that hardly ever gets any attention from the LEGO theme, which itself is a little bit sucky but does have the very popular story elements going for it. And one more note: to even get a mini-reboot of Classic Space through the Lego Movie, we had to endure the godawful names "Benny", "Lenny", "Kenny" and "Jenny".

Collecting is collecting... in another life I used seriously to collect stamps, and while I've got some relatively desirable specimens in addition to ones I just think look pretty, I can't get everything I want unless I really want to shell out for it. It would be nice to have substantial or even complete collection of Queen Victoria's issues, but do I want an 1840 tuppeny blue enough to actually buy one? No. Same deal with Mr. Gold and all that jazz.

"I suppose I am happy to return to the lounge for the time being since it seems we have explored as much as we can in Ezra's room." Emily glances at her watch, shocked that the time coordinate is only 17. "Bit early, though, don't you think?" She pauses, looking inward, wondering whether to share. "I actually had a bit of a daydream about Ezra. We found him dead, leaning against the wall in an alcove, probably in Engineering or something, dressed like the Easter Bunny!" A shiver runs up Emily's spine. "Brrrrrrrr!" Emily takes the datapad and puts it in her purse. She wants to have it on hand when they find Ezra, and in the meantime would like to try Alfie's fingerprints on it. "Maybe we'll find some scooby-snacks in the kitchen while we're at it, to help us solve this mystery! I know I dreamed about Engineering but a dream's a dream and we have to get everywhere at some point. Kitchen is fine by me."

"Bingo. We established that doors open when the power goes out, so this is a very real possibility." Emily curses under her breath at her failure to tease information from the notepad. "@Fugazi Doctor Wotsit, maybe you'll have better luck."

I’d like to grab a piece of paper, either one close at hand or one from the very back of the notepad. Then I would like to lay it on top of these pressure marks and take a rubbing with the pencil I keep in my jacket pocket.

Emily opens Ezra’s suitcases and pokes around in them.

Emily picks up & unfolds the paper, reading the contents aloud for the benefit of those present.

Emily makes a shocked face at the lack of Ezra in the stateroom. "No wonder I didn't get that martini I wanted if he's just upped sticks!" Emily POKE the tablet/computer thingy on the desk, hoping she can get in without a password. If she is prompted for a password, she chooses to enter 'EZ24'

"The name 'Ezra' tends to be used for men." Emily screws up her face and reminds herself not to SMASH. Now that Gabriella has pushed the door open, I would like to enter the room and see if Ezra is inside.

This looks much, much stronger. It also looks attractive with the panels on the outside, as @zephyr1934 suggested. I'm slightly concerned about the integrity of the joins between these modules, but hopefully the combination of pins and 4x4 plate will do the trick. It may be time to build it in the brick and to tinker with it to ensure the structure is sound.

Emily leaves the scene and walks to Ezra's room, with or without Bob's permission.

"I think it is possible that the killer may not be the author of the letter. Just possible, though. I do agree with Gabriella that the inclusion of the FTL shutdown, the darkening of the lights, and the transit of the teapot indicate premeditation, however." Emily, still hung over from all those martinis and from declining to partake of the barramundi last night, waves a hand in the direction of the patent application. Do I know any of the people listed on the patent application?

Emily wonders why the host mentioned these items specifically if they seem to be irrelevant. “How do you know this, considering Bob has said the doors open in the event of a power failure?” “Ah, but the details, they are all connected, n’est ce pas? Surely the assailant, he is cutting the power and murdering Alfie before returning to the lounge?” “We are already missing a teapot. There was one at Oliver’s table as we all got to know each other, but after the power failure it was not there. I remarked on the surprising disappearance and reappearance of the teapot when I opted to SMASH” “Has anyone else on this trip ever been involved in gambling?”

"I was wondering about that earlier. Do you know who besides you and Captain Bennett have all-access passes, by the way?" Emily smiles in a coy fashion and says "Sure thing, daaaahling. But I didn't know you had any business connections with the deceased? Please elaborate." "I wanted to see if anything was inside..." "She's a slippery character all right!" Good idea Chef!

Emily reads out the numbers on the lottery ticket, as well as the participants in the Martian race.

I was waiting for this topic since @BardDandelion's teaser thread the other week. The snow piled up on the rocks is lovely but I also really like the thatched roofs and the stone walls that are detailed but not too busy. Thanks for sharing; I'm happy to see the follow-up.

The sheer weight of the track & trains could (would?) very easily cause the bridge to sag, and those axles are only prevented from moving by "stoppers" at one end each: you can't in that setup protect against tension forces. The solution @coaster has come up with is not only extremely strong, it's prototypical too. I'd vote for that. If you're worried the structure hides the train itself, you could build one of bridges that puts the truss under the deck:

"Oliver, being an artiste most formidable, may have no mechanical intuition but perhaps Gabriella @Hinckley does? Would you kindly inspect these items and help us out?" Emily considers the room again. Lacking a pencil wound, her theory that Sophie lectured Alfie to death seems to be a non-starter. She wonders if the party has yet inspected everything in the room, though. I would like to peek under the desk. This is what Emily gets for drinking too many martinis: she fails to listen properly to the conversation. I retract my previous action and choose instead to inspect the scraps and tissues inside the bin.

Emily looks guiltily around the room, privately admitting that the EMILY SMASH strategy is not destined to work well. ”Sorry everyone. I’ll be more responsible in future.” The mysterious letter to Alfie piques Emily’s interest. What “product” could the author be referring to? Emily cranes her neck around Alfie’s body and regards the stab wound. Is it a pencil hole, she wonders? “Also, what’s the deal with these doors? Do they lock automatically when the power is on? Did someone lock Alfie’s door deliberately? Who has a pass for all the doors besides the Captain and the Steward?”

Emily smashes the teapot she noticed was missing from the lounge.